you might remember this. back in the heyday of space race, the rugs sent a dog into orbit. now iran has its own take on it. it launched a craft 75 miles out into space, back again carrying a monkey. predicts this iran will have a manned space mission in about five years. and that poor monkey that you see there, not looking so happy, he survived the flight. andy sandberg left "saturday night live" but was back this weekend with a video for the show's digital shorts. check it out.

♪ battle cry of a generation ♪ ♪ this life is a precious gift ♪ ♪ so don't get too crazy ♪ >> i love these. okay. this one in particular, this is a spoof on the term yolo, which stands for you only live once. it is the battle cry of the generation last year. but, anyway, the term became popular because of drake's song, the motto. sandberg turns yolo into you ought to look out. he also sings, try not to ruin everything and die. fun stuff. that does it for me. "cnn newsroom" continues with brooke baldwin. in just a couple of minutes, a group of senators from both sides of the aisle set to announce a compromise on immigration. but one of the questions is, will it mesh with the president's announcement that will come tomorrow? i'm brooke baldwin. just in to cnn, a sudden about face from the boy scouts of

america. we are now getting word that the group may drop the ban on gay scouts and scout leaders. chris lawrence, straight to you here, which obviously this would be a huge reversal. to be clear, this is not a done deal. what do you know? >> brooke, it is big news. it potentially has the possibility of affecting hundreds of thousands of families all across america. cub scouts, boy scouts, and their parents. scout leaders, everyone would be affected by this change in policy, if it goes through. here is some background. cnn has been going back and forth with the national organization on some other issues, and we just learned basically that they are considering reversing that ban and opening up the national organization to the fact that there would be no national statement excluding anyone on the basis of sexual orientation. but as i read the e-mail, from the director of the boy scouts of america, what i see basically is that they would leave it in the hands of the individual

scout packs, cub scout packs, boy scout packs. they would be able to sort of set their own rules and take it out of the national conversation. >> so, take me back, though, chris. how did all of this begin? wasn't this -- this was all because of a pack in maryland, was it? >> yeah. there was a back, locally, here in maryland that basically adopted a nondiscrimination policy. they even put it on the website saying, we're not going to discriminate against anyone based on their sexual orientation. the problem was, their charter was due to be renewed here in a couple of weeks and they were in danger of losing their charter because that statement ran -- conflicted basically with what the national boy scout organization's philosophy was. it was about six months ago that the boy scouts reaffirmed their ban on gay scouts, gay adult leaders, lesbian adult leaders, after about a two-year review.

they took two years, looked at this issue and the conclusion they came to back in july was this is something that we feel parents, churches, should discuss, sexual orientation should not be part of the boy scout culture. and so they said, we're going to keep it, so here you are, just six months later, and we're hearing they're actively considering dropping that ban. >> which would be a huge, huge change once it is a done deal. we will stay on it and report it. chris lawrence, thank you so much. keep us apprised of that. also this, we're watching here too, two days before what is expected to be a major capitol hill showdown on gun control, the president meets with those on the front lines of gun violence in america, police chiefs, sheriffs, just this afternoon. here are the pictures. he and the vice president sat down with law enforcement leaders from all across the country, including those from aurora, colorado, from oak creek, wisconsin, newtown, connecticut, all sites of mass shootings just in this last year. and the president wants their

take on his gun control measures. we reported on those 23 executive actions he has proposed, several proposals as well for congress to take up and pass. once again, the president, the vice president putting the pressure on lawmakers to act. >> the only way that we're going to be able to do everything that needs to be done is with the cooperation of congress. and that means passing serious laws that restrict the access and availability of assault weapons and magazine clips that aren't necessary for hunters and sports men and those who are responsible gun owners, who are out -- >> now, i mentioned this capitol hill showdown because let's be clear, this is not just between the political parties here, but two familiar opponents. you have senator dianne feinstein of california, who just a couple of days ago, introduced this assault weapons ban legislation. and wayne lapierre, the nra's

executive vice president. these two will face one another wednesday during a senate judiciary hearing, according to the website, called what should america do about gun violence. but, it will feel like debate deja vu for capitol hill watchers because those two run opposite sides, this was back in the early 1990s when this first assault weapons ban passed. that, as you know, has since expired. their arguments are coming back to life. we went into the archive and found feinstein and lapierre from two decades ago. >> you also, at some point, have got to say, enough is enough. otherwise when the nra will not say that you should not permit the civilian sale of bazookas, what we're talking about is a weapon crafted for war, that floats around the streets of our cities, that puts our police in a position of being outgunned by the bad guys, that has kids killing kids with them. >> more regulations on honest

people that a million times a year honest people use a gun in this country to defend themselves from criminals, the system will not control. >> what legitimate gun owner would -- what harm would there be to a legitimate gun owner if they couldn't have more than a ten-round clip. >> it is a cosmetic solution that will do nothing in the real world. the fact is there are millions and millions of magazines out there. you can change a clip that fast. >> now, fast-forward to these two, just this past week. >> i think you reach a point as i said earlier where enough is enough. do military-style assault weapons belong on the streets of our cities? and the answer, according to the united states conference of mayors, according to major chiefs of police, according to the largest police organization in the world, is absolutely no. >> -- we must accept less

freedom. less than the criminal class, and the political elites, less than they keep for themselves. we're told that limits on magazine capacity or bans on 100-year-old firearm technology, bans that only will affect lawful people will somehow make us safer. >> that hearing starts 10:00 wednesday morning. and including other people to testify here. you have mark kelly, the husband of former congresswoman and mass shooting survivor gabby giffords. now, to that absolutely horrible nightclub fire in brazil. we're getting new information here from state media, reporting that three arrests have been made, and a fourth person is being sought, which, in this whole fire, claimed the lives thus far of 231 people.

this is how it played out on brazilian television. look at these people, and the smoke here. the smoke pouring out of the overcrowded club as people, unconscious, were dragged one after the other after the other on to the sidewalk. witnesses say the ceiling there caught fire when the band lit some sort of pyrotechnic device. a stagehand reported ly tried t put it out, but the fire extinguisher didn't work. the flames spread within minutes. december pr desperate onlookers tried to break holes in walls to get people out. one person describes trying to get out of there. >> translator: when i was trying to get out, the staff stopped me and i yelled, fire, fire, but the security guards were not realizing what was going on. i think many of them thought they were just riots or the people were trying to get out without paying. >> more than 100 funerals are set for today. and when you look at the victims

here, a lot of them are college students. they were just out and about over the weekend, celebrating their last weekend of summer vacation before heading back to school. and this fire in brazil, it is eerily reminiscent to the deadly nightclub fire in rhode island. it will be ten years next month. that's when 100 people were killed. attorney john barlick represented families. he wrote a book called "killer show." it details that devastating fire, its causes and the heart breaking aftermath. john joins me now from providence, rhode island. we were talking a couple of months ago here at cnn about this book of yours and i immediately, when i saw the news out of brazil, i thought of you, rhode island, the pyrotechnics, the foam you brought in to show us how highly flammable it was. there were many similarities, were there not? >> hello, brooke, yes. this is like a recurrent

nightmare. there were many parallel facts, at least as brazil's situation has been reported. >> run through a couple of them. what else? what else was similar? >> well, according to initial reports we have improper use of pyrotechnics in an unsuitable venue, we have flammable wall coverings, we have gross overcrowding as we had at the station. and we have staff that seems woefully undertrained to deal with emergencies. >> i read your opinion piece on cnn.com and you wrote this, you would think the world would have learned from it, you would be wrong. you go through what happened in rhode island what happened in bangkok, russia, argentina. what needs to change? obviously nothing -- nothing substantial has for this to happen again. >> i hope things have changed in the united states. i know that certainly in rhode island they have changed. >> how have they? >> we tightened up our fire code -- we have tightened up the fire codes in several respects, particularly in the requirement

to sprinkler buildings with large capacities. they can't be grandfathered in as easily. also, preshow announcements are being routinely made showing people where exits are. on the other hand, rhode island has back tracked a little in making pyrotechnics more available to the general public. so we have had some slippage there as well. >> so i enjoy going to live shows. what is your advice for someone who -- am i supposed to sit by the exit? am i supposed to not go to a show where they wouldn't have fireworks? what are some pieces of advice you would share? >> i think the take away brooke is that we're our own best fire marshals. he can want rely on the promoters or club owners to look out for us. when you come to the venue, look at the venue. see if it looks well maintained, see if the staff looked at all trained. when you go to your seats, see if you pass through any narrow pinch points that might affect your ability to get out. and most importantly, when you get to your seat, check out the nearest exit, it probably won't be the one you came in by.

and share that information with your friends before the show starts. that's the best way you can protect yourself. >> i loved your piece of advice if you think something is going wrong, trust your gut, get out. john barylick, thank you. we have more tips on protecting yourself from a crowd. go to cnn.com. click on staying safe under the brazil nigclub fire story. what was supposed to be a dream vacation for one new york mother here turns into now this missing person investigation as the woman, this mother vanishes. and investigators are combing through clues left in her hotel room. plus, one day before the president kicks off his push for immigration reform, senators from both sides of the aisle here unveiling their plan in a matter of minutes. we're going to hear it live right here on cnn. even if it's . [ ding ] oh, that's helpful! well, our company does that, too.

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it was supposed to be the vacation of a lifetime. back on january 7th, this 33-year-old mother of two, sarai sierra, left the u.s. for the very first time. she's a budding new york photographer, headed out alone on a trip through turkey. she was supposed to return to newark, new jersey, last tuesday. >> on the day she was scheduled to arrive, her father went to the airport to go pick her up at the time she had given him. and he was there too long. so i called united airlines and

they had told me she was never aboard the flight, she never even arrived at the airport at turkey. >> so we know she didn't get on the flight. we also have learned that her passport and medical documents were found in her istanbul hotel room, though her iphone and her ipad were not. cnn international's hala gorani joins me here on what more we know. i know her husband and brother are heading over to istanbul. do they have any leads? >> well, they're saying according to what we were able to figure out that the consulate in istanbul is actually aware of the fact that this american citizen has been essentially has disappeared a week ago. we know she traveled to turkey on january 7th. we know she was meant to return on the 22nd. she last spoke to her family on january 21st, last week, a day before she was meant to fly home. you can imagine, though, that the family when her father went to the airport to pick her up not finding her on the flight asked the airline if she even

checked in, the airline told the father she has not checked in. that, of course, led to the -- to a very -- a situation where the family was extremely worried, asked the hotel, as you mentioned there in the lead-in to me, the passport and personal documents of sarai sierra were found in the hotel room, but her iphone and ipad were not, leading people to believe perhaps she was out doing sight-seeing. we know she wanted to go there to take pictures. she had a traveling companion that canceled, which is the reason she went alone for several weeks. and right now, of course, the question is whether there are leads that are going to help this family locate their loved one. >> what about just looking at turkey, big picture. just talking to someone the other day, who was headed to istanbul, on my bucket list, you've been, obviously it is a culture very different from ours here in the states. in terms of danger level, how high is it really? >> not high at all. you travel abroad and don't know

the language, you know, it is better to have somebody with you, it is better to take somebody from the hotel, maybe a guide or something with you. but turkey is not a country in which i feel any way threatened, any more so than any european country. you have to be careful when you travel alone in a country you don't know, especially if it is a language you're not familiar with, tell people where you are at all times, make sure that the hotel, the person at the hotel knows what your itinerary is, that's one of the things that you could do. i wouldn't be comfortable traveling alone in a european country in a remote area. i would always make sure i have somebody with me. so those are the types of precautions. but as a country, turkey is not at all the kind of country i would categorize as dangerous to travel in alone whether a man or a woman. the question is going to be, it has been a week now and we know the brother and the father of sarai sierra have traveled, traveled out yesterday evening, we understand, and should have arrived in turkey and they're now going to try to cooperate with authorities, who we understand spoke to one of the

hotel managers where sarai was staying to try to figure out where she is. >> hopefully at a thoehotel, th is surveillance video. cnn is reaching out to the family but their priority is finding her and bringing her home. hala gorani, thank you so much. now to singer chris brown. oh, yeah, could be in trouble with the law again. police now want him to talk to the pop star after an incident inside a music studio and involving a parking spot? good morning, turtle. ♪ my friends are all around me ♪ my friends, they do surround me ♪ ♪ i hope this never ends ♪ and we'll be the best of friends ♪ ♪ all set? all set. [ male announcer ] introducing the reimagined 2013 chevrolet traverse, with spacious seating for up to eight. imagine that.

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chris brown under investigation by police for allegedly punching someone over a parking space. l.a. police responded to a fight near a west hollywood recording studio last night, where witnesses told police that brown was involved in some sort of brawl in a parking lot. those witnesses say brown hit someone and left the scene before police arrived. and while authorities haven't officially named the victim, check this out. grammy-nominated singer frank ocean says he was involved. how do we know? he tweeted about it. quote, got jumped by chris and a couple of guys. lol. cut my finger. now i can't play with two hands at grammys. cnn reached out to brown and ocean for comment, haven't gotten anything back from either of those guys. let me bring in entertainment journalist john murray. welcome back. chris brown, first of all, on probation. so if this is all true, all these allegations, we're talking some trouble, are we not?

>> yes. and he just got a stern warning, brooke, in november from his probation officer where the judge gave him a stern warning because he had a positive drug test. so, you know, chris keeps getting lucky. every six months there is an incident. last summer, the bar brawl with rapper drake. then the cell phone snatching incident with a fan in miami. before that, something else. it is just, like, you know, the blowup at "good morning america," he just can't seem to stay out of trouble. >> what's going on? why? he's talented. >> i'm call iing on iylana van zan zandt. let me give you the back story here. this relationship started two years ago, they started having some tension here. so some of chris' associates who said they were his cousins recorded a video of them trying to fight frank following him in a car and the video went viral.

this relationship has been combustible for quite some time and it sounds like at the studio everything came to a head. >> that's what is happening on apparently sunset boulevard and west hollywood. we have to talk about this, an after party, you have tay diggs, at the s.a.g. awards. when he gets home with his wife, someone is apparently, what, trying to break into their house and what did he do? >> well, someone did break into the house. you know, and tay went into defense mode. he has a 3 1/2-year-old child with his wife who is broadway superstar idena menzell. he gets the criminal, he holds him down for 20 minutes until the police get there. so, i mean, if they're casting a superhero movie in hollywood, tay diggs would be the ideal candidate or on wwe monday night raw. >> tay diggs, check. loved him in "rent," by the way.

thank you very much. keep us all honest here as i'm checking the clock, couple of minutes away from this group of senators, this bipartisan group unveiling their plan, their blueprint here on immigration reform. will it gel, though, with the president's plan? remember, he's unveiling his plan tomorrow in las vegas at this major speech. we will take this event live there on the hill. you'll hear both sides of this debate right after this. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 you should've seen me today.

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then you're going to love this. right now they're only $14.95! wow-a grt deal just got a whole lot better. hurry. $14.95 won't last. near the bottom of the hour here, i'm brooke baldwin live in new york. >> and i'm john king in washington. any minute now senators from both parties about to present their plan, a framework, for overhauling our nation's immigration laws. but, an important reality check, washington littered with old reform plans that started, brooke, with lots of fanfare, only to go nowhere. >> that said, john king, this could be a true political breakthrough. live pictures, we're awaiting this news conference any minute now. keep in mind the timing here. this comes one day before president obama will be revealing his plans in las vegas. so what you're about to see and

hear is really both sides of this whole debate. but, first, we have a symbol along with you, john king, our political experts to guide us through all of this. we have chief congressional correspondent dana bash for us on the hill. chief political analyst gloria borger there for me in our washington bureau. and several others who we'll talk to in a minute. dana bash, i want to begin with this. the optimism, it seems, pervasive, right, on the hill, and we have heard that the time is right for immigration deals before. you were in the room in 2007 when senator ted kennedy was talking. let's watch this. >> now it is time for action. 2007 is the year we must fix our broken system. we must strike while the iron is hot. i've been around here long enough to know that opportunities like this don't come very often. the american people are demanding a solution. the president is committed. senator reed has made this a priority. senators from both parties are now determined to solve this crisis.

>> dana bash, he says striking while the iron is hot. why is the iron hotter now than it was five, six years ago? >> reporter: the november election. it is as simple as that. republicans knew immediately when they saw the election results. not only that, the overall electorate was much more latino, 16%. but that mitt romney did worse than any republican candidate had done in three or four presidential elections. it was just terrible news for republicans. and they understood that. that is why lindsey graham, one of the republican senators who we will see momentarily placed a call to democrat chuck schumer and said let's get the ball rolling on this again. and i'm told that they had about five meetings, this group of bipartisan senators, six total, and they were -- now eight, too that came in and out. and they wanted to come up with this. and, yes, of course, we have seen this before, but i'm talking to sources on both sides, they say there is still a

lot left undone, left on the table, but very, very sticky issues like with border security, like with the path to citizenship, but there definitely is a feeling they're closer now than they have been in years. look at the scene here. there are lots of press conferences here in capitol hill. but look behind me, how many cameras are here. this is definitely standing room only. this is -- this is sort of the place to be on an issue like this. and the senators who are putting this together, brooke, they did this on purpose. when i say this, meaning they wanted to come out today, monday, the day before -- >> the day before the president. >> reporter: has his big event tomorrow in las vegas, because they wanted to make sure it is out there that there is a bipartisan group working independent of the president, i'm told, by several sources, in order to make sure that specifically republicans don't get spooked and that they feel that they can get republican momentum, continue to get republican momentum on this if they make it clear it is done, you know, by themselves and not with the president himself.

>> dana, we'll keep the conversation going. more for you. but john king, you hop in. you have gloria borger there, right? >> i want to bring gloria into the conversation. president said he would do this in first year of his office and now in the first week of his second term. he'll outline his plan for immigration reform. >> they don't want to brand it. you know they don't want to brand it as a white house proposal because as dana points out that's going to get a lot of republicans pretty nervous, particularly republicans in the house. you know, i think wha you're seeing here in the senate is sort of a way to get away from the white house on this, to come up with their own proposal, which, by the way, is a little bit different from what the president would want. it clearly makes the path to citizenship contingent on enforcement. it doesn't have any kind of timetable in it.

at least at this point about how long this path to citizenship would take. there are certain things that republican senator marco rubio wants in this, that they put in this measure. and so, you know, i think there would be a little bit of difference from what the white house would want versus this plan. having said that, i think that people who really want to get immigration reform done, and this is the moment, because by a 3-1 margin republicans lost hispanic voters in the last election, so people who want to get something done are saying to the white house, you know, step aside, let this get some velocity on its own, and then eventually you can get involved. but don't brand it as president obama's proposal. >> let's get reaction before the event comes out, a preview of the debate about to come. anna navarro is a republican strategist. dan stein is the president of fair, the federation for

american immigration reform. dan, i'll start with you. this has been an issue which conservative republicans said no, anything that grants legal status or citizenship to someone who crossed into the country illegally is amnesty. is it a different climate now and can you support this framework? >> no, we can't support this framework. and while the climate may be somewhat different, depending how you interpret the election, it is basically the same bill for the most part, what we see is identical, almost identical to the 2006 proposal. in the end -- >> forgive me for interrupting, but senator rubio says you have de facto amnesty anyway. if you have 10 or 11 million people who came into this country illegally and here, if you do nothing, essentially they have amnesty. what is your proposal that the government spend the money to find them and toss them out? >> look, we had 30 years of commissions that have made recommendations on how we can enforce our borders and make our law work and make it enforceable. and we had four years of an administration that is dismantled interior law enforcement and then we have a

president who said to congress, you know, i don't care what the law says, i cannot enforce it anyway with respect to millions of people. the first thing congress needs to be doing is meeting that issue and basically saying, hey, you know, mr. president, you do have to enforce the laws we enact or why bother passing another so-called comprehensive amnesty bill. the second thing is, you got to have reform means fixing the problems that led you into the position you are now. we had an amnesty in 1986, 25 years ago, the american people are entitled to know what happened between 1986 and now that produced what we have today. why has the law not been enforced? why do we have state and local cooperation? why don't we have document security, information sharing, between federal agencys? why haven't we reduced the numbers and eliminated chain migration. this bill is like policy back wash in exchange for immediate amnesty now. no one is -- when people look at this -- >> stand by. let me bring in -- stand by. i want to hear more from you. i want to bring anna -- the

senators are coming into the room. three democrats, three republicans. >> okay. well, first we want to thank everybody for joining us. and we're here to announce today that the five of us here today, and eight of us in total, including senators mccain, durbin, graham, menendez, rubio, flake and bennett, have come together on a set of bipartisan principles for comprehensive immigration reform legislation that we hope can pass the senate in overwhelming and bipartisan fashion. we still have a long way to go. but this bipartisan group -- sorry, we still have a long way to go, but this bipartisan blueprint is a major breakthrough. it is our hope that these principles can be turned into legislation by march, and have a

markup by chairman leahy's committee with the goal of passage out of the senate by late spring or summer. senator durbin and i spoke to the president yesterday to update him on this group's progress, and he couldn't be more pleased. he strongly supports this effort. the key to our compromise is to recognize that americans overwhelmingly oppose illegal immigration and support legal immigration. to this end, our framework contains four basic pillars. first, we create a tough but fair path to citizenship for illegal immigrants currently living in the united states, that is contingent upon securing our borders. second, we reform our legal immigration system to better recognize the importance of characteristics that will help build the american economy and strengthen american families. third, we create an effective

employment verification system that will prevent identity theft and end the hiring of future unauthorized workers. and lastly, we establish an improved process for admitting future workers to serve our nation's workforce needs, while simultaneously protecting all workers. other bipartisan groups of senators have stood in the same spot before, trumpeting similar proposals. but we believe this will be the year congress finally gets it done. the politics on this issue have been turned upside down. for the first time ever, there is more political risk in opposing immigration reform than in supporting it. we believe we have a window of opportunity to act, but we will only succeed if the effort is bipartisan. by their presence today, my republican colleagues are making a significant statement about the need to fix our broken

immigration system. we democrats are equally serious. we do not want immigration as a wedge issue. much rather we want a bipartisan bill that solves the problem and becomes law. we recognize that in order to pass bipartisan legislation, none of us can get everything we want. that's why our framework says we can address the status of people living here illegally while at the same time securing our borders and creating an immigration enforcement system that ensures we will not again confront another 11 million people coming here illegally. on day one of our bill, the people here without status who are not criminals or security risks will be able to live and work here legally. that will make it easier for them to learn english and integrate into their communities without fear of deportation. but to prove to the american people that we're seriously -- that we are serious about

permanently ending illegal immigration to the u.s., we say that we will never put these individuals on a path to citizenship until we have fully secured our borders and combatted the pattern of people overstaying their legal immigration visas. we're asking our colleagues in the senate and the howitze to join us in this difficult work. it is time to work together, to pass legislation that improves our security, grows our economy, and ensures that we will continue to be a nation that lives up to the values of our founders. i'm going to turn it over to senator mccain in a minute. i want to say he has been the glue in our group. his wisdom, his strength, his courage, his steadfastness, and many other adjectives that i'll skip at the moment, have really been inspiring to me and i think to all of us. and i want to just say, want me to go on? and i want to say that every member of our group, including

senator graham, who couldn't be here today, senator mccain has a statement from him, have really been terrific in terms of understanding that we have to come to an agreement, we have to meet in the middle, that the mission of getting a build on to strengthen america is more important than any of us clinging to a specific belief. and so i'm optimistic. i'm truly optimistic, more than i was when we had our first meeting in december, that we can get this done. and i really want to thank every one of the members here. it has been so far we're only a part of the way done, there are loads of pitfalls, but it has been a great experience so far. and i think one that gives all six of us a great deal of optimism. senator mccain. >> i'd like to thank senator schumer for his leadership. i would like to thank the democratic leader dick durbin. there has not been anyone in america who has fought harder

for the so-called dreamers that -- than dick durbin has. and he will continue to be -- have the gratitude of many americans. my friend senator rubio who obviously is a new but incredibly important voice in this whole issue of immigration reform, senator menendez also played a key role and, of course, senator graham, who is uncharacteristically absent from this gathering. as senator schumer mentioned, it is the first step in what will continue to be difficult, but achievable. and i don't think i have to remind anyone the last major attempt was over six years ago. now we will again attempt to commit the remaining resources needed to secure the border, modernize and streamline our current immigration system, and create a tough but fair path to citizenship for those here illegally. and i would like to testify

again, security situation, along the southwest border, is not perfect. there remains several areas, particularly in arizona, where people's homes are being invaded, where drug smugglers are crossing property every night, and these citizens deserve the same level of security that all of us standing here have. but there is no question there has been a significant reduction in illegal crossings over the past five years. apprehension of illegal immigrants by the border patrol have dropped 70% from 2005 to 2012. but their work is not yet complete. greater focus needs to be paid to drug traffickers, criminals that cross the border. arizona continues to be a major smuggling corridor and distribution hub for drug trafficking organizations. to combat this, we need to continue to invest in high technology. uavs, radar, other proven

surveillance systems that will give the border patrol the ability to detect and apprehend illegal entries into the united states. it is achievable and can be completed within the next few years if we commit to it. in the next most important step is to ensure we don't repeat the mistakes of 1986 where we gave amnesty to 3 million people, promised the border would be secure, and now, of course, we are dealing with 11 million people here illegally. so that has to have increase in fines on employers that knowingly hire illegal workers, we have to have employment verification system that will end the hiring of future unauthorized immigrants, we need to shut off the magnet that attracts illegal workers. we will put in place a legal worker program to provide a humane and effective system that allows immigrant workers to

enter the country without seeking the aid of human traffickers, or drug cartels. any immigration laeegislation tt passes congress must establish practical, legal channels for workers to enter the united states, whether high skilled, low skilled or agricultural workers so we can free up federal officials to focus on those individuals truly intending to do our nation harm through drug smuggling, people trafficking, and possibly terrorism. providing an expedited path to citizenship for dreamers, developing a measurement to determine when the border is truly secure, reforming our future immigration system to better meet the needs of our employers, ensuring an entry exit system to combat visa overstays, and creating a program that makes certain u.s. agriculture has the necessary workers to maintain america's food supply are some of the issues that we have committed to

addressing and solving in a bipartisan manner. and finally, we come to the most controversial piece of immigration reform and that's how to deal with the approximately 11 million people living in the united states outside of legal status. what is going on now is unacceptable. in reality, what has been created is a de facto amnesty. we have been too content for too long to allow individuals to mow our lawn, serve our food, clean our homes and even watch our children while not affording them any of the benefits that make our country so great. i think everyone agrees that it is not beneficial for our country to have these people here, hidden in the shadows. let's create a system to bring them forward, allow them to settle their debt to society and fulfill a necessary requirement to become law abiding citizens of this country. this is consistent with our

country's tradition of being a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. i'd like to read senator lindsey graham's brief statement. he says, i hope the third time is a charm. i've enjoyed working with my senate colleagues in drafting these principles and believe we're off to a good start. the bipartisan immigration principles represent a real breakthrough on substance. and i hope they'll be seen as a breakthrough in forming a political coalition to finally solve our immigration problems. the coalition must also include the president and the house of representatives. my hope is immigration reform bill will start in the senate and receive an overwhelming bipartisan vote. we're a long way from having legislative language, but i believe 2013 represents us the best chance to pass immigration reform in many years. the time is right and the way forward, while difficult, is being better defined by the day and with a reasonable amount of political give and take, we will

be successful. however, if for some reason we fail in our efforts to pass comprehensive immigration reform, i do believe that it will be many years before anyone is willing to try and solve this problem. we should start this new attempt hopefully with full understanding of how difficult it is. we have been able to prevent a nuclear option in the united states senate. a lot of people don't appreciate how important it was for us to get that done. chuck schumer and i and others and dick durbin were involved in a bipartisan effort to avert that. thanks to the cooperation of our two leaders we were able to do that. there is a desire for bipartisanship here in this body. i think we can show the country and the world that we are capable of tackling this issue, a looming and terrible issue that has to be resolved in a bipartisan basis. and i believe the majority of

the american people support such an effort. and i want to thank my colleagues again. and the ever congenial senator schumer. >> now we'll have even more congenial senator durbin. >> i want to thank my colleagues, john mccain, thanks. we have been down this road before, but i feel very good about our chances this time. chuck, thank you for your leadership on this. i'm sure that marco and bob and lindsey and i understand you've been the force behind this. if he's the glue, you're the force. and it worked. we have come to this moment. and here we are facing the issue of immigration. nothing new in america. this nation of immigrants has been debating the issue of immigration since the first group got off the boat and wanted to know when the second group was coming. that's been our conversation in america from the beginning. but it really is critical to remember that those immigrants whose dna we carry had something special in their makeup, to get

up and move, to come to this great nation for an opportunity they couldn't find in another place. that's part of what we are today. and secondly, it says quite a bit about our nation, about how many people want to come here, in this free country, with this opportunity for an expanding economy. they want to be here in america. but let's be honest about it, the third point is critically important. our immigration system is broken. it has been broken for a long time. 16 years ago when i was elected to the senate, one of the first phone calls i received and i was so honored was from ted kennedy. and ted kennedy called this new senator and he said, i just wanted to let you know i'm chairman of the immigration subcommittee, you're on judiciary, i need you on there. we haven't looked at a serious immigration law for ten years. we're going to get it done. i signed up to be part of ted kennedy's team. but it didn't happen. and time passed and another 16 years and we still have a broken immigration system. with 11 million people living in

limbo. well, this statement of values that we give you today is a good solid starting point for making certain that we fix the system and that we come up with a long-term approach that is fair. it has the basics. basics we insist on. strengthen border security, with the best technology, using enforcement resources for the most serious security threats. second, require employers to verify that all their employees are legal. and make sure that there is a means of verification that is quick and accurate. third, illegal immigrants already in the united states will be given their chance to earn their way to citizenship. won't be easy. it will take them some time and determination. but were it not for the determination, they wouldn't be here in first place. among the requirements, of course, criminal background check. make certain that they pay any fines that we establish. pay their taxes, which is a critical part of this whole comprehensive approach. give them a chance to earn their

way into citizenship, learning english and the basics about america's history. and basically, four, making sure that the amount of illegal immigrants that are -- the amount of legal immigration allowed in the united states is based on the state of our economy. we are going to enshrine in here the principle that when it comes to job openings, americans get the first grab at it. americans get first opportunity. and that's the way it should be. we're going to make certain beyond that that there are opportunities for others. and there are a variety of different ways we approach it. let me close by just addressing one issue near and dear that i was -- happy to have both chuck and john refer to. it has been 12 years, 12 years since i introduced the dream act. i never gave up because when you meet these young people, you can't give up. but there were some disappointing times and some sad times. and a lot of tears shed when we were unable to pass the dream act in the past. the last time around, i met with these young people after the vote failed on the senate floor,

and i said to them, i'm never giving up on you, don't give up on us. that's what this is about. the dream act is going to be an integral part of comprehensive immigration reform. the dream act will give to these young people the chance that they have been dreaming of, begging for, pleading, given an opportunity. these young people have shown an extraordinary amount of courage. they have stepped up and self-identified to the world who they are. and when we finally met them, and we came to know who they were, this issue started moving to a place where in the last presidential campaign both candidates were asked their position on the dream act. it says a lot about where this issue has brought us and i think it has been an integral part of bringing us to this moment in time. i look forward to happy news for these dreamers and to fulfilling the dreams of so many families who are looking forward to a better day in america. >> thank you. let me join my colleagues in

saying i appreciate the incredible spirit that has been displayed in these negotiations, leading to these statement of principles. and for what i clearly sense after someone who has worked on this for years both in the house when i was there and the senate, i am the most optimistic i have been in quite some time. and i'm not poly anna-ish about that at all. i get a sense of a spirit and commitment that is far beyond what i have seen in some time. and the american people support this and poll after poll, when you take the elements of our principles, they have said this is what we want to see in reform of a broken system. and there is a reason for that. if i want to secure the nation, i cannot secure the nation unless i know who is here to pursue the american dream, versus who might be here to do it harm. if i have millions of people in the shadows without coming forth and registering with the

government, i don't know what their ultimate purpose is here. so when we talk about the nation's security, reform is necessary for security, as it is for the elements of our principles as it relates to enhancing what we have already done in further border security. when i talk about the nation's economy, reform is critical to the nation's economy. the reality is is that even in a very tight economy, there are all types of industries in our country which have used the work of immigrants every day, to achieve the economic goals of those industries. if you got up this morning and had fruits for breakfast, probably picked by the bent back of an immigrant worker. if you, in fact, had vegetables for a chicken for lunch, you probably had it deplucked by the hands -- the cutup hands of an immigrant worker. if you slept in a hotel or motel of the nation, you probably had

your room done by an immigrant worker. if you are looking at some of the cutting edge technologies in our country, you probably saw the ability of making america a more prosperous competitive place in the world by the intellect of an immigrant worker. so in so many dimensions this is about the economy of our nation as well. and, finally, two elements of this that i think are incredibly important within the principles i support is the fact that we have seen in other countries in the world where there is no pathway to citizenship that there is instability. the reality is is that this will be an arduous pathway, but a fair one. it will be one in which those who have come to this country to achieve the american dream will come forth, will -- must register with the government or they'll lose their opportunities, will have to go through a criminal background check, will have to pay any

previous taxes they did not pay, though many do pay through taxpayer i.d. numbers or a social security number, but nonetheless, they will have to pay anything they didn't pay before. they will have to, for first time in u.s. history, learn english to be able to even become a permanent resident. we require that for u.s. citizenship. we have never required that for permanent resident. a higher standard. those are some of the elements of a more arduous path, but a real opportunity at the end of the day. and lastly, as someone who has a big advocate of making sure that our economy is strong as a result to immigration reform, but also that we preserve a core value of our society, and our history of immigration law, which is family reunification. and how do we do that in a way that is smart and that promotes legal immigration, versus that -- that has families divided for so long and then pressures them to make choices about how do they become reunified. i believe we can take care of

all of those issues. final finally, let me just say, a word or two in spanish and then i'll be happy to join and answer questions when it is appropriate. [ speaking spanish ] [ speaking spanish ] >> watching senator robert menendez, part of a bipartisan group outlining a new immigration reform proposal that they say they're now quite confident can pass the united

states senate, but a feisty debate ahead if you follow this issue in recent years. you know that. let's get both sides of that debate. cnn contributor anna navarro, dan snyder. anna, i want to come to you first on this one. the senators are saying we think we have the votes on our side. where they would be able to get this through. what about the house? republicans run the house. that's where especially in the conservative base tea party and other conservatives say, no, anything that allows someone who came into this country illegally to stay is amnesty, they won't have it. can this pass the house? >> you know, i don't know if this exactly can pass the house, but i know the house itself is moving its own project. its own bipartisan project. it has been led by folks like javier bacera and luis gutierrez. on the democrat side, by mario diaz-balart and they have been meeting for months and years crafting a bipartisan agreement. i can tell you, john, i have spoken to speaker boehner about

this. every time i see speaker boehner i talk to him about immigration to the point i don't have to open my mouth anymore before he says to me, relax, we're going to do something on this. i know also that representative raul abrador, very popular with the tea party who is on the judiciary committee, is working on a set of principles, so, yes, there is commitment. there is effort that is going to be made. and it is the right time. and, you know, last time immigration reform failed because of timing, because it was brought up after social security had failed. that's why we cannot wait for something else to fail to bring it up this time. you do have to strike while the iron is hot. yes, we have heard these words before. but i can tell you having been at the republican house retreat, it is a different climate today, than it was the last time this was done. >> and, so, dan, you listened to the senators saying no one is going to get everything they want. i want to put that question to your organization. what the senators promised is a tougher employment, employer

sanctions if they don't verify, tougher border security, tougher path to citizenship and more arduous path, they said they would make sure there are criminal background checks, even for legal residency, you have to speak english and paying back taxes. you're getting some things in this proposal your organization has long called for. why not say, okay, i'll compromise? >> look, nobody wants reform more than we do. it would be great to see some iron clad concrete proposals that would actually move the country in the direction that we want it to go to. now, none of the senators mentioned by name the everify program, which is the one that has been in place over the last 20 years. it has been 25 years since we were promised a work verification system. so to make this kind of open ended commitment without any guarantee it is working it in place before you talk about amnesty, seems not credible. beyond that, look at the american people. we're in major financial trouble in this country. is this really the issue people want to deal with? how would passing this amnesty bill make it easier for young people to get into college? for americans to get a job.

for americans to see their wages go up. we got 50% of americans who are working in positions where they're overqualified. we have labor -- a slack labor market. now we have senators telling us we have to bring in more foreign labor. look at the proposals we're talking about, dramatic increase in overall immigration, much unskilled, we're talking about chamber of commerce concessions for more so-called foreign students coming in and competing with american graduates, how is this help the american people right now when we're talking about major cutbacks in spending across the board? so in the end, the reason the timing seems to be critical is because the bill is allegedly so unpopular, it is a trojan horse bill, it is so unpopular that they have to try to do it when people aren't really paying attention and at fair we're going to make sure every single part of this bill is audited and make sure every american understands what is in the bill, what the implications are, and why if there are promises, they need to be kept. >> appreciate your time today. and anna navarro as well.

a very feisty debate on immigration reform has been set aside for a while at the congressional level. it begins today anew here, brooke. starts in the united states senate, but the conservative speaker of the house, you heard john boehner, he would like to get a bill through. what does the conservative base say? a feisty debate starts today. we'll follow it. the president speaks tomorrow in vegas. we'll see where we end up. >> let me pick up with that, john king, before we put a punctuation to the end of the conversation with the white house. to chief white house correspondent jessica yellin. we heard from senator schumer at the tip-top, as john pointed out, tomorrow is the big day for the president, unveiling his own immigration proposals in las vegas. senator schumer said he and senator durbin talked to the president yesterday about this, saying the president couldn't be more pleased, just quoting the senator. does that jive with what you heard from the white house? >> reporter: well, the white house is saying that they are pleased that the senate is taking action on this. one of the reasons the senate has moved so quickly both dana

and i are reporting is the white house is -- has crafted its own legislation, brooke, according to a long list of sources i've talked to who are in ongoing conversations with the white house. the president's team has written its own immigration bill that is extremely detailed, covering everything from the path to citizenship for the 11 million illegal workers in this country to border security, and would have been ready to present it in theory tomorrow or later this week had the senate not unveiled its own plan today. now this is very unusual for the president. he doesn't usually craft his own bills and hasn't traditionally done so with very few exceptions. but it is just a sign of how eager they are to have momentum behind this, to prod this forward, and make sure the senate acted. so it is severaled ainvoice ca s -- advocates tell me it is something the president could have in his back pocket if the

senate hits a roadblock and the white house isn't commenting on this information i have, maybe the president will still unveil it tomorrow, but it is certainly something the white house, it is a different -- a change in strategy for the president in a second term. >> jessica yellin, we'll be talking tomorrow as we see the president. we'll see what he chooses to unveil as he speaks from las vegas. jessica yellin for me at the white house. jessica, thank you. well, it is just about time for america's unofficial national holiday, that being super bowl sunday. a day when millions of us unite on our sofas in bars, around the country here, watching this football game that really is more spectacle than sport. but, how long can this tradition endure at a time when there is growing evidence that football players are doing serious long-term damage to themselves by playing the game we all love. president obama himself now making some news weighing in on this debate. interviewed by the new republic.

if i had a son, i would have to think long and hard before i let him play football. and the president went on to predict the game will have to change, again in his words, quote, change gradually to try to reduce some of the violence. want to bring in here a couple of people, open this up to multiple voices, with different perspectives on this whole discussion. we have tim green, former atlanta falcon, also an attorney and author. his newest book is titled "unstoppable." welcome to you. jay thomas, also here, back with us. emmy award winning actor and sirius radio host. and dr. debbie nampiaparampo, forgive me, also here, assistant professor at nyu's school of medicine. tim green, i wanted to begin with you here. you played for the falcons, you played eight year and i was reading and saw you -- you stopped counti ining all of you

concussions. you have sons. your sons played ball. you disagree with what the president has said? >> i guess i can't disagree he wants to take a good hard look at it. i think it is unfortunate that he would suggest that football is more dangerous than a lot of other sports. i think if you're going to do that, if you're going to say, i really want to think before i let my son play football, i think first you need to say i'm going to really think if i'm going to let my son get into an automobile, i'm going to let my son ride a bike, go downhill skiing, play baseball, play hockey, play soccer. i think that football is -- people have drawn a beat on football because of the super bowl, because of the popularity of the sport. but i think that there is a lot yet to be known about how much damage is actually done. >> tim, i want to come back to you, jay thomas, you and i often talk and you cite your own boys, i know they're grown now. knowing that -- knowing what we know now, the concussive issues, the brain injuries, would you

think twice to use the president's phraseology, would you think twice before letting them play? >> i never got as far as -- i played small college and coached my kids in junior high and stuff. but never in my life was i ever coached or did we ever coach kids to do anything but shoulder tackle, placing your head on one side or the other of the runner, and wrapping your arms. when i started seeing defensive backs and especially in the nfl leading with their heads, i used to say, that is the craziest way to tackle. one, it is not effective. and, two, it is so injurious. when do you think that started, the leading with the head? >> well -- >> tim, that's a question to you. >> yeah, i agree, leading with the head is extremely dangerous. i've coached football as well. junior league and high school football. and would never coach that way. i was never coached in the -- in college or the pros to lead with my head on a tackle. i think people are doing it now. i think it should be a strict

liability, should be a penalty. i think the -- that football could eradicate that from the game pretty easily. i think that it should be eradicated. e issue i think that is kind of up in the air in this numb nebulous is the repeated blows to the head on the line of scrimmage. that's something i experienced as a lineman in the national football league. you line up every play, and you're taught to use your helmet as, you know, as the impact point to stop the opposing lineman's momentum. so that, to me, is something that, you know, i want to see what comes out of that. but i don't -- i'm not all that alarmed as alarmed as everyone else is. i know some people have had brain injuries and certainly done damage to their brain. but, again, i think you have to put it into context. football is not that much more dangerous than a lot of other sports. >> let me jump in, dr. debbie, here is my question to you. you're hearing tim say that. a lot of the youth leagues are trying to reduce potential

injury, reduce the blows to the head. do you agree that, you know, playing with -- let's talk about youth football. it is not any more dangerous than in other sport, a. and that, b, starting younger and playing football isn't much worse. >> well, studies show football may be more dangerous in other competitive sports. you may be more likely to get a traumatic brain injury compared to others, but you can get them in other sports as well. i think having people play at a younger age, it could go either way. people have more likelihood maybe of getting repeated brain injuries, but maybe they can be taught to play differently or more safely at a younger age and have little bit more wherewithal to protect themselves. from a practical perspective, it doesn't make sense to ban football or really prevent people from playing or enjoying the sport. i think we should look at really first how can we prevent some of the injuries and, second, if somebody has a brain injury what can we do to really treat them or get them to have better

treatment alternatives early on. >> i want to talk to all of you all about the evolution of the sport. i read a quote that jumped out at me, from one of the ravens players who we'll be sitting with our popcorn and wings and watching this, what he said, let me quote him, 30 years from now i don't think it will be in existence. the thing i'm waiting for and, lord, i hope it doesn't happen, is a guy dying on the field. we have had everything else happen there except for a death. to either of you two guys, can the game survive? because it seems like the injuries are getting more and more serious. >> look, first of all, people used to die on the football field. and then in the early '70s the colleges and the pros got together and said, hey, we need better helmets and people -- it's, n it's, you know, there are mortalities in football, but, again, most of it is less than a lot of other sports. there is mortalities in all kinds of situations.

but football, from a mortality standpoint, it is not that dangerous. it is not going to get worse. you may have a fatality here and there in football like you might in baseball or basketball or hockey or gymnastics. i mean, those kinds of things happen. but football is not that much more dangerous. let me throw one more thing in here. when people talk about not letting their little kids play football, to me, that's laughable. the impact created by the little kids, 8-year-olds and 9-year-olds with beautiful helmets on their heads, that's not -- that's nothing compared to the impacts in the national football league or college. and people who say so are just flat wrong. >> jay thomas, you have the final word. are you -- >> i have to say this -- >> are you alarmed at all or -- >> there is 300 plus pound guys that can run down the running backs of the world. i think pro football and college football is a blood thirsty sport because the fans want it. but i think all the players have

to meet and whatever decisions they have to make, maybe prior to striking each other's helmets, tim used to block like this in the old days, remember that, you had to almost hold your jersey first before you made the impact. i don't think the fan will notice it, i think the rabid fan will do all that crazy screaming and yelling, but there is some overweight, you know, angry guy on his couch is yelling for more violence, i think the football players have to get together and the coaches and make this decision that is good for all of them. and i think that will really help begin to solve the problem. >> we just wanted to have the discussion. i read that, i'm hearing the president, on the record saying i may think twice if i had boys. just wanted to talk about it. thank you, all. thank you, all, so much. as the senate gets ready to vote on aid for sandy victims, we will take you live to one neighborhood where crews are demolishing homes.

horror at the club. and now arrests in the fire that killed more than 200. plus, jonbenet ramsey would have been 23 years old. but now new word that her parents were close to being indicted for her death. and a manhunt under way for an inmate who escaped not once, but twice. and his method is stunning police. the news is now.

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try capzasin-hp. it penetrates deep to block pain signals for hours of relief. capzasin-hp. take the pain out of arthritis. shifting our attention now to cyberspace. trouble is abreuing at the intersection of twitter and vine. the social networking site launched this new service featuring six second video clips and faster than you can say not safe for work. vine turned into a naughty search engine. alison kosik with what happened. >> hi, brooke. you may have seen this one coming. it only has been a week since twitter launched its new sharing app and already vooine has a problem.

you can share six-second video clips. but pornography isn't prohibited and allowing sexually explicit videos to run rampant. simply searching brings up countless results, but it is not like this is a new problem. twitter is known for being a big proponent of the free flow of information and not cutting down on pornographic images in the past. the issue has many in the tech industry questioning how long vine can stay alive and apple's app store if this isn't addressed since apple is very clear that pornographic material is not okay. brooke? >> alison kosik, thank you. coming up next, why all these years later we are hearing the parents of jonbenet ramsey were close to being indicted in their daughter's death. we're on the case. plus, an inmate escapes jail not once, but twice in this past year and the way he escaped is stunning police.

the secret has been uncovered in this cold case that transfixed the nation, starting

back in 1996 when somebody murdered pageant winner jonbenet ramsey. there are reports that a grand jury in the late '90s voted to indict her parents, john and patsy ramsey, on charges of child abuse resulting in death. the camera writes, d.a. alex hunter chose not to sign it, believing co-ne ining he could e case beyond a reasonable doubt. here is what hunter said back then. >> we have eight career prosecutors with many, many years of service, who, together, have concluded that there is insufficient evidence to bring charges at this time. >> cnn legal analyst sunny hostin is on the case with me. and, sunny, how unusual is it to have a d.a., a prosecutor here in this case, not follow through with a grand jury indictment? >> it is really remarkably unusual. it is something that you just don't see.

and in large part it is because of the way the grand jury proceedings work, brooke. prosecutors are the ones that usually present these cases to the grand jury, so they believe in their case. once the grand jury indicts, it is almost off the shoulders of the d.a., right? because the grand jury has spoken. and to have a grand jury speak and then have a district attorney say, i don't think i can prove my case, it is just something that you don't often see. hindsight is 20/20. many people are saying he's a hero because he didn't proceed with the prosecution that he couldn't prove, and in large part that has somewhat been proven to be the case, because we know now with dna that there is sort of this undisclosed third party d.a. that has been found, not attached to either of the ramseys. and so i think this remains in many respects, brooke, just one of those murder mysteries that may never be solved.

think about it, this happened when this little girl was 6 years old, she would have been 23 and we are still no further along in this case. >> incredible. 1996. when we talk about this district attorney, he didn't choose to comment to this -- the daily camera, but we do have a comment from john ramsey's attorney to cnn. let me read that. quote, assuming the recent reporting is accurate, perhaps the confusion of the grand jury over alleged child abuse could have been avoided if prosecutors had permitted john and patsy to testify before the grand jury, which they repeatedly offered to do at the time. the dna tests performed after the time of the boulder grand jury not only proved the ramsey family to be innocent and the grand jury wrong, they also make former district attorney alex hunter a hero, as you pointed out a moment ago, sunny hostin, who risely avoided a gross miscarriage of justice. we now know patsy ramsey, she passed away a couple of years ago. so, today what does this mean for john ramsey? >> yeah, i mean, that's the

wrinkle, isn't it, now that we have this new information. patsy is no longer here with us. i still think that given the fact that you've got this dna out there, that doesn't necessarily exonerate him, but certainly leads one to believe that there is something else out there, i think, again, it goes nowhere against mr. ramsey. i think that is going to be one of those murder mysteries that may never be solved. unfortunately. >> okay. can we move on and talk about rocky delgado marquez and these bracelets of yours. this is the story, people don't know, our affiliate is reporting that this guy, not just once, but twice has been able to allude authorities. he's escaped jail in the phoenix area because all he had to do was switch an i.d. bracelet, pop it off another inmate, put it on his wrist, so if this guy goes out now, he commits a crime, who is open to a lawsuit? the jail? is it the braceletmaker?

that's what i'm wondering. >> it is the jail. certainly. there are cases where a prisoner has escaped and victims that have been injured have, you know, filed lawsuits against the prison, against the folks involved in the escape. so there is this liability, but what is shocking to me here, brooke, this is not first time that he's escaped in this particular way by doing the old switcher rad e switcheroo with the bracelets if. if he's done it once and he's back in prison, isn't there a red flag over his head, watching him a little more closely. the other question i have is what is the incentive for the other inmate to switch bracelets? i mean, what is he promising these folks? is he that charming? is he that smart, has that much to offer that he is able to sort of switch his freedom with someone who is about to get out? so this is one smart criminal.

i would love the opportunity to interview him, because he's done it not once, but twice. >> twice. gotten away with it. sunny hostin, thank you, on the case with me today. coming up next, let's take some live pictures here as this is a neighborhood. look at the pieces, the aftermath of what once was there. a neighborhood that was slammed by superstorm sandy. home owners on staten island, they're beginning to demolish what is left of their homes so they can rebuild again. we'll take you there live, tell their stories next. [ woman ] my boyfriend and i were going on vacation,

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funerals of 33 men. these men were killed during a weekend of violent clashes with police. and in cairo, thousands gathered in tahrir square chanting leave, leave. these words for one man, president mohamed morsi, after his constitutional power grab a couple of months ago, more anger in the streets today after he approved new laws allowing the army to arrest civilians while ordering a month long overnight curfew in three cities. but here's something you may not know. as the unrest is spreading all across this country, four u.s. warplanes sit in egyptian bunkers, f-16 fighter jets, sent there last week, 16 more are on the way. it is a gift for a president who has called president obama a liar, while urging a boycott of america. a president who many egyptians say is no better than the

dictator they toppled two years ago. our veteran international journalist jim clancy joining me here. and this weapons deal, it was inked in 2010, when mubarak was still in power. tell me about that. >> well, look, we have long had a relationship with egypt's military. the u.s. sees them as vital, if you will, in a chain that goes around the world. this is a chain in the middle east and nothing could be more important to the united states. they want to keep their promises. and so they're going to go ahead with the military aid that they have promised. they want to cooperate with this government. they know they need to be in it, in order to have some influence over what is happening now. when you look at the streets of cairo today, you look at the streets in port said, in issmai province and other areas under curfew tonight, you see a president that is in trouble.

president morsi, who even though he's got his supporters, has very limited options. to many egyptians his crackdown, his curfews are making him look more and more like hosni mubarak. >> but, jim clancy, just perspecti perspective, right, we're talking egypt and talking about another north african nation all over the headlines recently, recently mali, we know french troops are there, they need assistance, specifically in terms of weapons. and while they're fighting these insurgents in mali, the u.s. can't give them anything. why is that? >> yeah. it is because we trained the man who led the coup in mali. and the u.s. congress passed a law. we don't give assistance anymore to people who lead coups because we have recognized it is not in the interest of the united states, not in the interest of africa to have governments being toppled left and right. sit down, negotiate, make things happen diplomatically, not just a series of one coup after

another. the african union is in support of this kind of a policy. we find ourselves stuck with it right now. i think the french have more than enough to handle the situation there. they seem to be making great progress. i'm less worried frankly about what is going on in mali right now than what is going on in streets of egypt. i think morsi needs help. we already have seen him diplomatically. he's hand fisted. he cannot simply keep sending his muslim brotherhood supporters into the streets to do battle with his political opponents. here is a man that needs some help. you've got to respect the sovereignty of egypt, but, you know, i hear this man crying for help because he cannot figure out how is he going to handle this situation. egypt is the beating heart of the arab world. the way egypt goes, so will go this arab spring, and country after country. it has got to work there. >> jim clancy, thank you. back here in the united states, three months now after superstorm sandy, the senate is

finally expected to vote on that $50 billion aid package to help those still reeling. remember, republicans, they had balked at getting money to disaster victims unless costs were, quote/unquote, offset and that idea infuriated folks on the northeast. remember, new jersey governor chris christie, a couple of weeks ago. >> disaster relief was something that you didn't play games with. but now in this current atmosphere everything is the subject of one upsmanship, everything is the subject -- is a possibility of -- a potential piece of bait for the political game. and it is just -- it is why the american people hate congress. >> fast-forward to today, our national correspondent, jason carol there, standing in a very hard hit area of staten island. jason, you're talking to people there, how are they responding to the fact that this aid package will likely be passed? >> well, let me put it to you this way, brooke.

i was out here in november. i was back here in december. here again now, the end of january, and the neighborhood still pretty much looks the same. like this. piles of debris from homes that have been condemned. some homes like this one i remember this house here when i was here in december, it has got the red tag on it, it is still waiting to be possibly demolished. the home that used to be there on the corner, once again, still the same situation. that's the problem here. there are many people in this area of staten island who feel like the situation that they -- that existed way back in early november, and in december, still exists now. they're waiting for aid. they say they're out of time. and they are out of money. i want you to listen to a woman i spoke to, just a few blocks from here, fran spano, she says that she has been dealing with this, living with this every day. she really explained the frustration that so many people like her are continuously dealing with. >> my home here is destroyed.

as you can see, i can't live in it. i have no electric. i have no plumbing. i have no boiler. and i need some help over here. hopefully someone who is listening out there, possibly can help me get back into my home. >> don't move. >> reporter: and when you listen to people like fran, it really tugs at the heart because you know that there are at least -- according to the city, brooke, some 2100 families just in the new york city area that are in the same situation as the woman that you just heard from. and the thought is that even though washington is expected to approve this financial aid package, there is a worry here, brooke, that aid won't trickle down to the people here in this neighborhood who so desperately need it. >> just waking up here in the city this morning, and all the snow was falling, i couldn't help but think of the people who are absolutely freezing and some of them don't have homes where

you are. jason carol, jason, thank you very much for sharing that story. it has been several years here since he's been in a coma. now doctors say the brain of former israeli prime minister ariel sharon is active. coming up next, elizabeth cohen explains what this could possibly mean. red lobster's 30 shrimp. wow, that's a lot of shrimp. [ male announcer ] it's red lobster's 30 shrimp! for $11.99 pair any two shrimp selections on one plate! like mango jalapeño shrimp and parmesan crunch shrimp. just $11.99. offer ends soon! i'm ryon stewart, and i sea food differently. just $11.99. offer ends soon! ♪

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after seven years in a coma, former world leader is now showing signs of brain activity. ariel sharon became prime minister of israel back in 2001. he was a major player in the 2003 talks, called for a palestinian state, but then in 2006 he suffered a massive stroke and brain hemorrhage that put him in a vegetative state. well, today his doctors say that sharon appeared to respond to his son's voice and other items connected to his family.

senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen is here with me because i just -- i heard about this and thought seven years. first, be specific. when we say he responded, what specifically was he responding to and what might this mean? >> this is so interesting, i almost interrupted you. i'll give you two examples of things he responded to. so doctors showed him pictures of random houses, just houses he would never have known. and then they showed him a picture of his own house, and they saw brain activity that they didn't see in the same way with the random houses, and it was the kind of brain activity, brooke, you or i would register if we saw a picture of our own house, of something we're familiar with. and so that, you know, was very interesting to them. and then they tried something else. they put his son's voice through some kind of a modulator so that it came out as gibberish. and they played that for him, just nonsense words. and it didn't register in the same way as it did when his son actually spoke to him.

so they had his son speak real words to him and it registered again in the same way -- not exactly the same way, but in the same areas of the brain they saw activity as when anyone is speaking to someone who they know. now this doesn't mean he knows who his son is, it doesn't mean he recognizes his own house. i said to this israeli doctor, who did the procedure, i said, doctor what does it mean? and i want to tell you exactly what he said. i want to use his words. be very careful here. he said there is some kind of consciousness. there is some kind of processing going on. but he wouldn't characterize what kind. >> when you talk about words coming from his son, it makes me think, if he's been in a coma for seven years, has he not heard his son speak to him? why now? i imagine the son is elated. >> the son has been speaking to him on a daily basis. the why now is because this is the first time they have done this mri. it is called the functional mri. you watch and see how someone functions as you do the mri. so, you know, i don't mean to

sort of be sort of a bummer here, but you maybe could have done this functional mri on him five years ago and gotten the same results. it is possible. so maybe there hasn't been improvement, maybe there has. we don't know. this is the first time they have done it. so we don't have anything to compare it to. >> so, again, what is his family saying after this mri? >> the doctor, we haven't spoken with his family, but the doctor has, and he said the family has been feeling for quite some time that they -- that he recognized them, that he knew them, there was some kind of a connection, some level of consciousness and he said that now they feel that they have the objective data to show that. >> that is incredible. >> it really is. >> elizabeth cohen, thank you. >> thanks. "argo", the cia thriller directed by ben affleck cleaned up last night at the s.a.g. awards. if you haven't seen it, it is amazing. a gripping film about the 1979 iranian hostage crisis and the story behind the film is just as thrilling. coming up, you'll hear

interviews with the actual real life players. don't miss that. this is $100,000. we asked total strangers to watch it for us. thank you so much. i appreciate it. i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. your money needs an ally.

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behind such an incredible story. >> what happened? >> six of the hostages went out a back exit. >> where are they? >> the canadian ambassador's house. >> in the movie "argo," ben affleck plays tony mendez, a real life cia operative who hatches a plan to rescue six americans who elude capture during the iranian revolution. >> i got an idea. >> they're a canadian film crew for a science fiction movie. i fly into tehran, we fly out together as a film crew. >> that big science fiction movie is called "argo". >> if i do a fake movie, it is going to be a fake hit. >> what was your first thought when you saw it? >> it was more exciting than the real thing. >> bob anders, lee shots, five of the six, the first time they all sat down together for a tv interview. the only one who couldn't be with us is kathleen's husband joe, currently working for the state department in the sudan.

>> these are the actors who played you. what do you think? sure looks like joe. >> yeah. >> maybe got his little sweater right. he used to wear little sleeveless sweater vests. that's him. >> they took me back to the day, november 4th, 1979, when iranian students climbed the wall and stormed the u.s. embassy. what went through your mind? >> this will only last for a little while before the government will come and stop this. and i just tried to keep my staff kind of calm and collected. >> i remember calling my mother after about the first 24, 48 hours and said, don't worry, you're going to see some things on the news but i'm safe and i'll call you in a few days and i didn't call back for three months. >> 79 days, they hid from the iranians in the homes of canadian diplomats and came to be known as the houseguests. >> people would come to the house, we would go upstairs and hide. and at one point there were revolutionary guards posted outside the door.

>> on january 26th, 1980 -- >> there was a knock on the door, i opened the door and there is two guys standing there in trench coats. and i said, really? trench coats. >> this is what i do. and i've never left anyone behind. >> tony is a very charming guy, very convincing. >> did you trustguy. very convincing. >> reporter: did you trust him? >> we didn't have a whole lot of trust. i think if we'd said no thanks, send in any infiltration expert. >> you really believe your little story's going to make a difference when there's a gun to your heads? >> i think my little story's the only thing. >> reporter: movie spoiler alert, it worked. and once they cleared iranian airspace -- >> we all ordered drinks. each sure the people on the plane, if they wondered why there were these arms that went up as we made eye contact because we were sitting in different places, but we knew

why. >> reporter: alina cho, cnn, washington. >> incredible how they turned to hollywood to get those hostages freed. the film is nominated for seven academy awards. humans were made to make things. that's why we have thumbs. we've gotten away from making so much. there's that instinctive drive for people to create. i like to think tech shop helps rekindle that in people and gets them back to being makers. there's so many things that -- it could be little tiny things. it could be big world changing things. all the things that people do here just really light me up.

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some of the hottest stories in a flash. rapid fire. sudden about-face from the boy scouts of america here. the group may drop the ban on gay scouts and gay scout leaders. spokesman for the boy scouts says the group is, quote, currently discussing potentially removing the national membership restriction regarding sexual orientation. we will keep you posted on that.

also, the countdown to the super bowl is on. you have the baltimore ravens. the fans sent their team off to new orleans with a victory rally today. >> it's going to be a glorious day in new orleans a week from sunday. ♪ we got two tickets to paradise ♪ >> there is head coach jim harbaugh and safety ed reed firing up the crowd if that is what you want to call that singing. the ravens are expected to arrive in the big easy a little later today. as for their opponents, the 49ers, they arrived last night. the team spared no expense in keeping its players comfortable. the team upgraded its usual charter plane to a massive 747 here normally used for international flights. super bowl week rolls on tomorrow with always interesting media day. and some pretty stunning rescue video. watch this.

this is northeastern australia here. a helicopter hovering above. a mother stuffs her scared crying baby boy into a bag on the back of her truck stranded on a flooded road. the baby is hoisted away. but how about this for a favorite part. the baby popping his head out of the bag from the safety of the helicopter. what's going on? rescueres are still trying to reach hundreds of people stranded on rooftops and on cars. look at that fast water there. three people already have died. the flooding on the heels of devastating fires in australia. a man accused of threatening to blow up the liberty bell now behind bars. the feds say he claimed to have explosives as he walked into the historic site yesterday. the bomb squad was called in. ultimately we're told neither bag contained explosives.

>> you can if you want. it's your world, man. >> it's your world, lebron. yep, that was the president having a little fun with the members of the miami heat. lebron james there. the president honored the 2012 nba champs in a ceremony at the white house a little about two hours ago. he said he was disappointed his chicago bulls did not make it but heats championship victory was, in the president's words, well earned. not often you see the president looking short amongst folks. a semi truck skidding out of control in china. loses control, flips on its side. in its path, a man on a motorcycle. we have the video. we'll show you after the break.

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